This may have coincided with the discovery that she was pregnant with her first child, who would be born the next January and named Philip, for her father. Elizabeth Schuyler was born in Albany in 1757, to a wealthy family that had social ties to prominent early Americans. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at age 94 When she was 95 years old and President Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States, Elizabeth Hamilton was invited to dinner at the White House, and the First Lady, Abigail Filmore, gave up her chair to her. But while Hamilton came from an impoverished background, he had two key traits that would help propel him to the top intelligence and ambition. They would raise a large family but see their eldest son killed in a duel while defending his fathers honor. The Hamilton Free School was free of cost, because Eliza believed all children should have access to educationspecifically in order to read the Bible. The character grows quite fond of her friend Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), but ultimately backs off when he begins a romance with her sister Eliza (Phillipa Soo). "[12] Much later, the son of Joanna Bethune, one of the women she worked alongside to found an orphanage later in her life,[14] remembered that "Both [Elizabeth and Joanna] were of determined disposition Mrs. Bethune the more cautious, Mrs. Hamilton the more impulsive. Q: Can you introduce us to Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton? Elizabeth did not spend her days in sorrow or self-pity. [citation needed]. Angelica was also laid to rest at Trinity, in the Livingstons' private vault, while Eliza's eldest son Philip had an unmarked grave near the churchyard. Losses All of the scholars came from the locality between High Bridge and Kingsbridge, he recalled many years later. Eliza was giving much of her time to her other big projecthelping to found the citys first private orphanage in lower Manhattan. In March of that year, they formally founded the Orphan Asylum Society, and recruited other women to the cause. Eventually, Eliza Hamiltons school evolved into a scholarship fund that helps students from Washington Heights and Inwood attend Columbia University. More, Housed in the New York State Library, the NNRC offers students, educators, scholars and researchers a vast collection of early documents and reference works on America's Dutch era. Catherine,. [citation needed], By 1846, Eliza was suffering from short-term memory loss but was still vividly recalling her husband. But a series of events would soon rip that family apart. Hamilton followed three years later. Hamilton was surely aware of Elizas wealth and connections, which likely played a role in his initial attraction to her. She married Hamilton in 1780 and he died in a duel in 1804. Hamilton: Building America on HISTORY Vault. Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. So of the original 14 siblings only five survived. . A slight inheritance from Philip Schuyler helped with that, as did the private raising of money from Hamilton's friends that enabled Elizabeth to stay in the house she and Hamilton had shared. After Hamilton became treasury secretary in 1789 her social duties increased. A dutiful daughter, she eschewed the elopements chosen by three of her sisters and instead conducted a traditional, if whirlwind, courtship with the dashing young aide she found at George Washington's headquarters in February 1780. Hamilton, while envious of Andr for his actions during the war, promised Eliza he would do what he could to treat the British intelligence chief accordingly; he even begged Washington to grant Andr's last wish of execution by firing squad instead of by hanging, but to no avail. Their last child, born the next June in 1802, was named Philip in his honor. But she was immediately smitten with the brilliant, charming young man, and the two quickly started up a correspondence. Also a trained anthropologist, Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms. Before their eighth child was born, however, they lost their oldest son, Philip, who died in a duel on November 24, 1801. (As the musical shows, Hamilton also got pretty flirty with Eliza's vivacious older sister, Angelica. } The orphaned immigrant had found a father figure, and Hamilton became like a son to the future president. All rights reserved. She was buried in Trinity Churchyard in lower Manhattan, not far from the graves of her sister, Elizabeth . After two more months of separation punctuated by their correspondence, on December 14, 1780, Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler were married at the Schuyler Mansion. The Van Rensselaers of theManor of Rensselaerswyckwere one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state ofNew York, so she came from a very different background to Hamilton, who arrived in the States as an orphan. The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state of New York. The marriage took place at the Schuyler mansion in Albany, New York. "She has good nature, affability and vivacity unembellished with that charming frivolousness which is justly deemed one of the principal accomplishments of a belle. In early 1780, Elizabeth went to stay with her aunt in New Jersey where she met Hamilton, who was one of General George Washingtons aides-de-camp at the time. ", A Happy Union The True Story of Elizabeth Schuyler in 'Hamilton'. In August, her request was granted and Congress bought and published Alexander's works, adding them to the Library of Congress and helping future historians of Hamilton view his works today. "[28] Two years later, Colonel Antill died in Canada, and Fanny continued to live with the Hamiltons for another eight years, until an older sister was married and able to take Fanny into her own home. Hamilton met Maria Reynolds in Philadelphia in 1791, when she visited the then-Secretary of the Treasury to request financial support for her struggling family. Ron Chernow said that her efforts to preserve Hamilton's memory were important to his 2005 biography of the founder, especially as, with Hamilton's Republican foes in power after his death, there wasn't much in the way of public efforts to record his life. Artifacts of domestic life in lower Manhattan, De Hooges Memorandum Book Eliza would have grown up around slavery as her father was a slave owner. She continued to help Hamilton throughout his political career, serving as an intermediary between him and his publisher when he was writing The Federalist Papers, copying out portions of his defense of theBank of the United States,and staying up late with him so he could readWashingtons Farewell Addressout loud to her as he wrote it. [24] Earlier that year, Angelica and her husband John Barker Church, for business reasons, had moved to Europe. Philip also hailed from a prominent family and he commanded a militia during the French and Indian War of the 1750s. By now everyone knows that Eliza Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton, burned her husband's love letters before she diedand November 9th will be the 162nd anniversary of her death on that day in 1854 at the age of 97. var googletag = googletag || {}; She re-organized all of Hamiltons letters, papers and writings with the help of her son, John Church Hamilton. Timeline of the Netherlands & Scandinavia in North America. And I am grateful . The scandal cost Hamilton any chance at the presidency, and the humiliating news became public when Eliza was pregnant with their sixth child. Hamilton does this because he's been accused of financial wrongdoing, and wants to make it clear that the suspicious payments he made were to pay off the husband of his lover, Maria Reynolds, rather than "improper speculation." She had eight children with Hamilton during their rather short marriage of 24 years. Reynolds spilled the beans about the affair, but also said that Hamilton had been involved in his pension scheme. When he paid her a visit decades after the Reynolds scandal, she refused to speak with him. Eliza, who had to struggle to pay for her own childrens education after her husbands death, could empathize. Soon after, Philip Schuyler died. Thanks to her fathers role in the war and her familys social status, these years were a time of excitement for Eliza as well. Oldest sister Angelica formed a deep friendship with Hamilton, and the two would exchange political and personal advice until Hamiltons death. In 1806, Isabella Graham and Sarah Hoffman, two other widows and social activists with whom Eliza had become friends, approached her for help. Elizabeth did not believe the rumors at first, but eventually Hamilton lived up to it. And yes,. By that time two of her siblings, Margarita and John had also passed away. Hamiltons wife Eliza Schuyler was a key part of his life, but she was also an important historical character in her own right. [citation needed], Eliza remained dedicated to preserving her husband's legacy. After the war he was active in both local and national politics, even serving as a U.S. senator from New York from 1789 to 1791 losing his seat to none other than Aaron Burr (who would eventually kill his future son-in-law Alexander in a duel). The first blow was struck in March 1801, when Elizabeth lost her sister Peggy after a long illness. By this time, two of her siblings, Peggy and John, had also died. Philip Schuyler shared similar politics with Hamilton, and, like Eliza and others, realized that Hamiltons star was on the rise thanks in no small part to his role at Washingtons side. Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, Philip,in 1782, and seven more would follow over the next two decades; the Hamiltons also raised the orphaned daughter of a friend for 10 years. In 1798, she accepted her friend Isabella Grahams invitation to join the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children that had been established the previous year. The following year, according to another newspaper account in the New York Tribune, the school building was destroyed in a fire. How well do you know your government? Elizabeth was appointed second directress. Eliza and Alexander continued to live together in a caring relationship in their new home that can be seen in letters between the two at the time. It is said that after returning home from meeting her, Hamilton was so excited he forgot the password to enter army headquarters. Along with getting Alexander's works stored while Eliza was in her 90s, she remained dedicated to charity work. [citation needed], Like most Dutch families of the area, her family belonged to the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, which still stands; however, the original 1715 building, where Elizabeth was baptized and attended services, was demolished in 1806. "[15], In early 1780, Elizabeth went to stay with her aunt, Gertrude Schuyler Cochran, in Morristown, New Jersey. She also outlived her fifth child, her son William Stephen who was born on August 4, 1797 and died on October 9, 1850. History, Archaeology & Art illuminate a Life on the Hudson, New Amsterdam Kitchen googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; Long-suffering yet intensely loyal, Elizabeth Hamilton buried her sister, her eldest son, her husband, and her father in the space of three turbulent years. By 1801, Peggy had been ill for two years. In 1802, the same year that Philip was born, the house was built and named Hamilton Grange, after Alexander's father's home in Scotland. She died aged 97, in 1854. [31] After Alexander became Treasury Secretary in 1789, her social duties only increased: "Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. [Sarah] Jay and Mrs. [Lucy] Knox were the leaders of official society," an early historian writes. ' Elizabeth Hamilton (ne Schuyler /skalr/; August 9, 1757 November 9, 1854[2]), also called Eliza or Betsey, was an American socialite and philanthropist. [17] Also while in Morristown, Eliza met and became friends with Martha Washington, a friendship they would maintain throughout their husbands' political careers. Never remarrying, Eliza raised a brood of seven children as a single mother, while grieving the losses of her husband and eldest son, Philip who both died in duels. After Hamilton's sudden death in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, Eliza went on to outlive her husband by close to 50 years. He found work at a local import-export firm, where he quickly impressed his bosses. I pray you to exert yourself and I repeat my exhortation that you will bear in mind it is your business to comfort and not to distress.[46]. But at the time of Hamiltons death, he still had a mortgage and owed money to the builders, and his wife struggled under the weight of all that debt. In short she is so strange a creature, that she possesses all the beauties, virtues and graces of her sex without any of those amiable defects which from their general prevalence are esteemed by connoisseurs necessary shades in the character of a fine woman.. The Hamilton Free School, established in northern Manhattan (not far from where the couple had lived) offered education to students of families who couldnt afford private education for their children. Elizabeth was born in Albany, New York, the second daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, a Revolutionary War general, and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler. [54] With Eliza's help John C. Hamilton would go on to publish History of the Republic of the United States America, as Traced in the Writings of Alexander Hamilton and his Contemporaries. Historian Jenny L. Presnell writes, "The entire Schuyler family revered Alexander as a young political genius." During one such interlude, in the summer of 1791, Hamilton began an affair with Maria Reynoldsthat, when publicly revealed six years later, exposed Elizabeth to a humiliation augmented both by Hamilton's insistence on airing the adultery's most lurid details and a hostile press that asked, "Art thou a wife? According to some accounts, the family was spared from any losses thanks to her sister Peggy's quick thinking: she told the soldiers that her father had gone to town to get help, causing them to flee from the area. This is trueshe really did save his writings and fiercely defended his legacybut she was also a force for change in her own right. Eliza was also able to collect Alexander's pension from his service in the army from congress in 1836 for money and land. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Eliza and the other activists soon set out to raise $25,000 to build a bigger facility on a donated parcel on Bank Street in Greenwich Village. Her two famous sisters were Angelica Schuyler Church and Margarita Schuyler Van Rensselaer. Dutch people, places, miscellany, Timeline of the Netherlands & Scandinavia in North America One popular theory is that "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" ends with Eliza finally dying, 50 years after her husband's fatal duel. Born in 1757, Eliza was the second daughter of Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler and Catherine van Rensselaer, a member of one of New Yorks richest families. Born in 1757, Eliza was the second daughter of Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler and Catherine van Rensselaer, a member of one of New York's richest families. She also appears in the 2015 Broadway Musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. [8] The relationship between Eliza and Hamilton quickly grew; even after he left Morristown for a short mission to negotiate a prisoners exchange, only a month after Eliza had arrived. Some parts of his 31-page letter to Robert Morris, laying out much of the financial knowledge that was to aid him later in his career, are actually in her handwriting. The first, Elizabeth, named for Eliza, was born on November 20, 1799. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! In November 1833, at the age of 76, Eliza resold The Grange for $25,000, funding the purchase of a New York townhouse (now called the Hamilton-Holly House) where she lived for nine years with two of her grown children, Alexander Hamilton Jr. and Eliza Hamilton Holly, and their spouses. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}'Creed III' Is a Big F*ck You to Rocky, Watch All 'The Lord of the Rings' Movies In Order, Heres How to Watch All the Batman Movies in Order, The 78 Best Documentaries on Netflix to Watch Now, The Hilarious Reason Why Chris Pine Cut His Hair, Chris Pine Tells All About Harry Styles SpitGate, Movie Sequels That Are Better Than the Original, 40 Photos That Prove Sly Stallone Was a Style Icon. "I'm erasing myself from the narrative / let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted / when you broke her heart," she sings, referencing a very real historical ambiguity. Eliza's mother had died a year before. Here's what happened to Angelica in real life, and how she ended up back together with Hamilton under sad circumstances. But she remained steadfastly loyal to him, and after his death in 1804, it was Eliza who would ensure Hamiltons contributions to the founding of America were never left out of the history books. Her oldest son Philip died in a duel, just as his father would three years later. They became officially engaged in early April with her fathers blessing. She was educated and described as intelligent, attractive, and was frequently compared to her demure sister, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, as being more sociable. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (1757-1854) was a philanthropist, wife to Alexander Hamilton, and mother of their 8 children. Unlike two of Elizas sisters (including Angelica) who had eloped due to family doubts about their husbands, Eliza received her fathers blessing. [27][28], For other people named Elizabeth Hamilton, see, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 21:19, Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Learn how and when to remove this template message, George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation, "Hamilton, Elizabeth Schuyler (09 August 175709 November 1854), statesman's wife and charity worker", "Women of the Republican Court: Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (17571854)", "Mrs. Philip John Schuyler (Catherine van Rensselaer)", "Schuyler-Malcolm-Cochran Family Papers: Manuscripts and Special Collections: New York State Library", "Dutch Reformed Church In Albany, New York", "Guide to the Records of Graham Windham 18042011", "To Alexander Hamilton from James McHenry, 3 January 1791", "Letter from Henry Knox to Alexander Hamilton, 24 November 1794", "Letter from Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, 1 December 1794", "Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Angelica Schuyler Church, 6 March 1795", "To Alexander Hamilton from John B. In 1848, she left New York for Washington, D.C., where she lived with her widowed daughter Eliza until 1854. Hamiltons prospects were far less promising. She died in 1854, at the age of 97, one of the nation's last remaining links to its founders. [12] She was said to have been something of a tomboy when she was young;[13][pageneeded] throughout her life she retained a strong will and even an impulsiveness that her acquaintances noted. Still eager to find glory in battle, he turned them all down. He had been stationed along with the General and his men in Morristown. Elizabeth died in Washington, D.C. on November 9, 1854, at the advanced age of 97. Life in New York City was obviously more exciting than in Morristown, New Jersey or Albany, New York. Two years before the duel, Elizabeths mother, Catherine had died, and only a few months after Hamiltons death, her father also died. Summer 2020 has been effectively canceled due to the pandemic, but this weekend, there's reason to celebrate at home. While apart, Alexander wrote her numerous letters telling her not to worry for his safety; in addition, he wrote her concerning confidential military secrets, including the lead-up to the Battle of Yorktown that autumn. She came from a well-established, highly-regarded family, he was an orphaned immigrant. [25] On September 25, 1784, Eliza gave birth to her second child, Angelica, named after Eliza's older sister. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. See him, whom thou has chosen for the partner of this life, lolling in the lap of a harlot!!" Alexander's wife lived for many decades after her husband's death. [52] By the time she left she had been with the organization continuously since its founding, a total of 42 years. In the first year, the society took in 20 children but had to turn away nine times as many, according to Mazzeo. In 1797 Eliza was told of an affair that had taken place several years earlier between Hamilton andMaria Reynolds, a young woman who had first approached him for financial assistance. After Vice President Aaron Burr killed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, Hamilton's widow, Elizabeth Schuyler "Eliza" Hamilton, had to find a way to go on without her. Despite the move, Eliza retained a connection to people who lived a few miles away from her old home. [9] Despite the unrest of the French and Indian War, which her father served in and which was fought in part near her childhood home, Eliza's childhood was spent comfortably, learning to read and sew from her mother. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Her eighth and last child, Philip (Little Phil), was born on June 1, 1802. The Unlikely Marriage of Alexander Hamilton and His Wife, Eliza, Photos: GraphicaArtis/Getty Images; Kean Collection/Getty Images, Every Candidate in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Race, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. In Hamilton's closing number, "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story," Eliza is framed as the driving force behind Hamilton's legacy. The accomplishment she's proudest of, she says in the song, is founding the first private orphanage in New York City, inspired by Hamilton's own experience of being orphaned at a young age. Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler (August 9, 1757-November 9, 1854) was Philip and Kitty Schuyler's second child, and like Angelica, grew up in the family home in Albany.